Sorry that it's been so long since I've updated. I'm also sorry that this chapter is really uneventful, and therefore doesn't really redeem my extended absence. I can't offer up a good excuse either, so you should probably stop reading this before you get even more annoyed at me. In the case that I do have anyone left reading this, please review for me. If I get anything wrong, point it out to me, please. As a final note, I still don't own Naruto... darn it.
The first orange rays of sunset had just begun to make their ways through the trees when Naruto and Jiraiya arrived at their destination for that day, a city halfway to their destination and handpicked by Jiraiya for its nightlife. Traveling all the way to the edge of the Country of Fire in one day wasn't impossible, but it would be strenuous, and in Jiraiya's eyes it was an unnecessary exertion. Their enemy could wait, so long as he could have his fill of women and sake in this city.
As soon as they arrived, Jiraiya led Naruto to an inn and ordered a room for them both. A group of women walked past the inn's entrance shortly after the room had been ordered, and immediately Jiraiya took off after them, muttering back to Naruto to train in the inn room. Naruto huffed at his back in annoyance. "Train for what? I already mastered your technique, Perverted Hermit!" he shouted.
Jiraiya suddenly tensed and clenched a fist. He spun at Naruto and shouted, "How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that?" Especially when I'm going to go flirt, he thought. The women giggled at him as they walked out of sight, and Jiraiya was forced to lower his head in defeat. "And besides, you haven't mastered the Rasengan, you've only learned it," he stated, cooling down a bit. "You still have to use two hands to pull it off."
Naruto frowned at Jiraiya, but knew he was right. He remembered Iruka-sensei always saying how you only truly mastered a technique when you could use it as easily as breathing.
"Lets go on up to the room, Naruto. We need to think up a plan, and we should be well rested for our fight tomorrow," Jiraiya said. He was actually a bit tired from walking all day, and after Naruto's interference he'd lost his motivation to spend a night on the town. He'd come back after they were done tomorrow.
They ascended the stairs of the inn and made their way to the room. When they entered, Naruto immediately began getting ready for bed, while Jiraiya pulled a bottle of sake out of his pack and sat to pour himself a drink. After Naruto had settled in a bit, and Jiraiya had sipped a bit of sake, they began their planning. "We don't know that much about this ninja, except that he knows a lot of techniques well and that he's originally from the Hidden Village of the Moon," Jiraiya stated. "Also, he must be very strong to have killed three Jounin. Ideally, we'd be able to assassinate this ninja silently, but we know too little to be sure of that. So we need a contingency plan."
Naruto looked questioningly at Jiraiya. "Will it really be that difficult? You're one of the Legendary Sannin. Even if this guy is more powerful than some Jounin, you could still beat him, right?"
Jiraiya sweated the question for a second. Tsunade hadn't specifically told him not to tell Naruto that he'd be staying out of it, but if Naruto knew that he was going to bail him out, Naruto wouldn't fight as well. He thought, and answered, "We don't know, remember? He might be extremely strong, and since he's been a missing-nin, no one really knows how strong he is. It's best to consider the worst case scenario, that he'll disable me, leaving only you to fight him."
If anything, Naruto only seemed to have his confidence boosted by Jiraiya's warning. "Hmm... I'm not good at this planning stuff, Perverted Hermit. Why don't we talk in the morning on the way there?" Naruto's short attention span kicked in again, and he was suddenly tired of talk and ready for sleep. Without waiting for a reply, Naruto rolled over onto his futon.
"Don't just blow this off!" Jiraiya fumed at Naruto, but decided he was right. It could wait till morning, and being well rested would be necessary. He followed Naruto's lead and both were asleep within minutes.
Elsewhere, Sarashi was also preparing for sleep, though in a bit more luxurious room. Having feasted on the cooking of the merchant's wife, Sarashi had concluded linking his coins on chains, and had chosen and set aside a full set of chains for the fight that was sure to occur the following day. He'd then made the wife prepare this sleeping room. He smiled to himself. This family was obedient, but he would have to move on after tomorrow. He wouldn't regret killing them, of course, but he could only hope that the next village had families pathetic enough to tremble and obey at his every word.
The last thing he did before he fell asleep was his normal routine. Snapping a coin off the bracelet on his wrist, he set it on the floor near his futon. Placing his hand over the coin, he released a small burst of chakra into the coin. Instantly, the coin burst in a bright flash, then dimmed and disappeared. Sarashi smirked. I hope this family doesn't decide that tonight would be a good night to try to kill me. Otherwise I'll wake up to some charred corpses, and that'd be no fun. With that, the missing-nin went to sleep peacefully.